1,000 signatures reached
To: Mayors' Council, TransLink
Affordable transit measures for Metro Vancouver
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Dear Mayors’ Council, TransLink:
Thousands of people in Metro Vancouver cannot access the basic service of public transit they need to live, work and thrive.
It is time to take action and build the sustainable and just transit system we need in Metro Vancouver. Our federal and provincial governments are prioritizing affordability, equity and poverty reduction. Yet TransLink is lagging far behind with no mandate to address affordability and inclusion. The province of BC has thus far neglected to address transit affordability within their affordability mandate.
The result? Vulnerable children, youth and adults who lack access to any other form of transport remain locked out of our transit system.
Free transit for all children and youth 0-18 levels the playing field and ensures our most vulnerable can get to school and thrive. A sliding scale pass based on income means nobody is left behind just because they live below the poverty line.
Cities and municipalities across the country and around the world provide affordability measures based on income and transit systems that address equity. It is long overdue for TransLink to address the glaring fact that those who need transit the most are shut out of the system.
We call on TransLink to implement a poverty reduction mandate and provide free transit for all youth 0-18 and a sliding scale pass based on income in Metro Vancouver. We call on the provincial government to invest in these measures and address transit affordability in Metro Vancouver as an essential and crucial poverty reduction measure.
Thank you.
Why is this important?
Translink’s lack of affordability measures means that right now thousands of people cannot access the basic service of public transit they need to live, work and thrive.
Children, youth and adults who lack access to any other form of transport remain locked out of our transit system. With free transit for children and youth 0-18 and a sliding scale pass based on income, those who are homeless can get to the shelters they need to survive, families will no longer have to make hard choices, folks can get to work without losing the bulk of their hard-earned wages, those seeking jobs can get to interviews and to work, and everyone can access the health care they need, when they need it. In the words of one dad, "I had to choose between transit to get myself to the doctor or buying my daughter milk."
We can and must do better. The time is now.